Sonic: Hedgehog of the Old Republic
by FirebirdPhoenix87
Summary: Inspired by the storybook series. When Sonic fell for Robotnik's latest trap, an accident causes Sonic to be transported into the world of KOTOR! Sonic must now face against the evil Sith while meeting some familiar faces.
1. A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Prologue - A Galaxy Far, Far Away....

Sonic the Hedgehog rushed at full speed into the Scrap Brain Zone, part of Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik's base in Robotropolis, the capital city of Eggmanland. Sonic had heard from a distress signal from Knuckles that Robotnik tricked him again & stole not only the Chaos Emeralds but also the Master Emerald, causing Angel Island to fall once again into the ocean, the first time since the incident with Perfect Chaos. However Sonic did not zoom into Scrap Brain unnoticed. "Snively, activate all exterior & interior hedgehog traps." Dr. Robotnik ordered his nephew & lackey Snively. "But I thought you wanted him to get in?" Snively asked. "Yes, but we can't make it too easy." Robotnik explained, grinning evilly.

Sonic was just about inside Robotnik's base that borders the Metropolis Zone when he saw a few Buzz Bombers leave the small hangers from the buildings. These Buzz Bombers were a new & improved design compared to the Buzz Bombers Sonic had encountered while venturing the Green Hill Zone but the new Buzz Bombers now were equipped with deadlier weapons & could travel at speeds that rivaled many other Badniks. Sonic got into his Buzz Saw Spin & used his Homing Attack on the Buzz Bombers, freeing a few trapped animals inside. "New model, same old pile of junk!" Sonic laughed as he waved back to the animals & shouting at them to move out of the city as quickly as possible.

He then saw a few more copies of the new & improved Coconut Badniks try to throw bombs at Sonic but he swerved & dodged them with hardly any effort. He then caught one of the bombs & threw one at one of the Coconuts, causing it to explode & fall into the many pieces & free a Flicky. Resuming his pursuit, he then stopped to see a SwatBot battalion blocking the entrance into Robotnik's base. "They actually think that's gonna stop me?" Sonic asked, pulling out a Power Ring & zooming at the SwatBots, causing most to be shredded from Sonic's Ring Boost. Sonic then yelped as he saw a laser barely miss him & swerved to avoid the laser blasts from the mini turrets in the ceiling.

When he finally reached the doors to Robotnik's chamber, he knew the door would be locked. "Wanna play, RoButtnik? Well check this!" Sonic knelt down & used his Buzz Saw Spin to start up a Spin Dash & a few seconds later, used the momentum to knock the doors down, startling Snively. "What took you so long, hedgehog?" Robotnik asked, turning his half dome-shaped chair to face Sonic. "You sent your Badniks to slow me down, Egg-Belly!" Sonic answered. "Updating them doesn't make them better; they're still the same piles of scrap metal! Now hand over the Emeralds, Robotnik!"

Just then, Robotnik pushed a button & a glass dome covered the other half of his chair & it bursted from the ground. Sonic wasn't surprised, since he knew that Robotnik always used his Egg-O-Matic for a chair that connects to the entire city. Also Sonic was not surprised to see Robotnik release a bronze checkered ball on a chain from the bottom of his Egg-O-Matic. "That old trick again?" Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "You need to get out more often." Robotnik, growling, slowly moved his Egg-O-Matic forward & swerved the checkered ball at Sonic. But Sonic, remembering when Robotnik first used the trick at Green Hill, simply dodged the attack by zooming behind him. But Sonic was completely surprised when he saw the Master Emerald in a small chamber & Robotnik then used its energy to charge up the ball, surrounding it with many bolts of lightning.

"You were saying, rodent?" Robotnik asked, chuckling. "That's a little better but still no contest." Sonic answered, zooming ahead & dodging the electric ball as Robotnik swerved it in Sonic's direction. "Stand still, you miserable hedgehog!!" Robotnik roared as he tried to move the electric ball again & again, each time missing Sonic. Sonic then finally stood still in an open area, smiling & crossing his arms. "I aim to please. How's this?" Sonic asked. "Perfect!" Robotnik answered, smiling evilly & pushing a button. Instead of swerving his ball to try & hit Sonic, Sonic was immediately taken by surprise as seven large generators shot up & creating electric walls, trapping Sonic. At the top of each generator was a Chaos Emerald.

Sonic then took out the Power Ring generator that his uncle Sir Charles made for him & he shook it. "Come on!" Sonic begged, shaking the small machine a little. "Where's that Power Ring?!" "I'm afraid you cannot escape, hedgehog." Robotnik announced. "I have you at last!" "What are you up to this time, Flabio?" Sonic asked, tapping his foot impatiently. Robotnik didn't have to answer as he turned on a light to reveal all of Sonic's friends; Knuckles, Sally, Tails, Bunnie, Amy, Julie-Su, Rouge, Shadow, & even the Chaotix were trapped in electric shackles, screaming to Sonic to save them. "What do you want, RoButtnik?!" Sonic growled, trying to break one of the generators.

"Simple." Robotnik answered. "You to surrender & give your life for your friends. Give up your life & I'll let them go." Sonic sighed. "Alright, RoButtnik. You win." Sonic then walked to the center of the chamber & sat down. He then looked up at Robotnik, hearing him laugh. Sonic then looked around to see that his friends weren't actually his friends at all; just simply robots disguising themselves as his friends. "You fool! I can't believe you actually fell for my latest plot yet!" Robotnik cackled. "This is nothing compared to when I released Dark Gaia! You just proved that my new HoloBots are a superb success! Now I'll just have them spy on your Freedom Fighters!" Sonic, now enraged, zoomed to try & destroy one of the generators but it was useless; not one of the generators had a single dent in them.

"I'm afraid that your Homing Attack is useless against the hides of my Chaos Generators; I simply reinforced them with the same molecular bonded shells of my Diamond Glass Domes!" Robotnik announced. "Now to end this!" Robotnik then pushed another button, causing electricity to surround Sonic once again. "NOOOO!!! NOT AG--!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Sonic screamed in pain. "Snively?" Robotnik asked, turning to his nephew. "Yes, sir." Snively nodded, smiling just as evilly as Robotnik. But Snively slipped while walking to the computer & pushed another button. "SNIVELY!! YOU IMBECILE!!" Robotnik roared with rage. "I'm sorry, sir!!" Snively apologized, dropping to his knees & pleading. "YOU'LL CAUSE A MASSIVE ENERGY OVERLOAD!!" Robotnik then deactivated the ball's energy & dropped it to the floor, then flew out of the room as quickly as he could. Snively followed, jumping into his own personal hovercraft.

The Master Emerald & the Chaos Emeralds glowed with white energy & light, blinding everything in the room. Sonic shielded his eyes & prepared for the worst. He mentally said good-bye to all of his friends & his love Sally. *Good-bye. I'm sorry that I failed you all.* Sonic thought, then felt the energy hit him. Instead of killing him, he felt as if the other energies trapping him had instantly dissipated. But all thoughts he had simply disappeared when he blacked out. After the white energy & light died down, Robotnik & Snively hovered back inside to see Sonic gone. "Yes. Yes! YES!!" Robotnik cheered. "The hedgehog is GONE!! Oooo it makes me tingle all over! YES!!" But then Robotnik looked closer at the chambers to see that the Chaos Emeralds & the Master Emerald had also disappeared. "What is this?! Snively!!!" Snively yelped. "I dunno what happened, sir." Snively tried to explain. "Well don't just stand there, you little twit. FIND THOSE EMERALDS!!!" Robotnik roared at Snively, causing Snively to yelp once again. "Rotten bag of slime." Snively muttered quietly. "What was that, Snively?!" Robotnik asked, gritting his teeth in rage. "I said 'now is the time', sir." Snively lied, hoping Robotnik believed him. Robotnik calmed down & locked his Egg-O-Matic back onto the chair mechanism. "Those Emeralds couldn't have just disappeared into thin air, like the hedgehog." Robotnik spoke to himself. "Where could they have gone to?"


	2. Attack on the Endar Spire

Chapter 1 - Attack on the Endar Spire

Sonic slowly opened his eyes when he felt his body jerking around. But it wasn't his body that was jerking around, he felt the whole room shaking violently. He instantly got up & saw that he was no longer in Robotnik's chamber but a strange room full of beds & lockers. He got out from his bed & looked around, looking out the window to see lasers of both green & red colors shoot past. "Where on Mobius am I?" Sonic asked, looking down to see that he was no longer wearing his red sneakers. Before he could say anything he heard a door open & he was bewildered to see a man with white hair, wearing a strange red uniform & carrying a small laser gun, run over to him.

"We've been ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack!" The man announced. "Hurry! We don't have much time!" Sonic was completely confused. Endar Spire? Sith battle fleet? What is going on here? Sonic thought to himself. Did I put something in my chili dog before I got here? "Who are you?" Sonic asked, despite the many questions he had. "I'm Trask Ulgo, ensign with the Republic Fleet. I'm your bunkmate on the Endar Spire." Trask introduced himself. "We work opposite shifts. I guess that's why you've never seen me before. Now hurry up! We have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she gets off this ship alive!"

Republic Fleet? Bastila? What is all this? Sonic thought to himself. "Who's Bastila?" Sonic asked. "Bastila's the commanding officer of the Endar Spire." Trask answered. "Well not an officer, really. But she's in charge of this mission. Our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of an enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone on this mission." I did? Sonic thought to himself. "Now it's time to make good on that oath!" Trask continued. "I've heard all about your reputation. Elite combat training, tops in your class. It's no wonder you've been hand-picked for this mission!" Elite combat training, eh? I can do a lot more than that! Sonic thought to himself again, grinning. "Word is that officers haven't seen a recruit with your kind of potential in twenty years. But all that potential don't mean a thing if it won't count! We're soldiers; we're trained for combat. Bastila's going to need men & women like us at her side during this attack!"

I don't see any one else, men or women, around here. Sonic thought to himself, raising one of his eyebrows. "Alright. Let's go help this Bastila, then." Sonic nodded. "So hurry up & grab your gear. You'll need to suit up so we can get out of here!" Trask nodded. "Um...where is my gear anyway?" Sonic asked, looking around. "It's in the footlocker right behind you." Trask answered. Sonic, nodded, then mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. Gotta get used to this place. Sonic thought to himself as he opened his footlocker. He found his sneakers but found a light blue soldier uniform. I have to wear this?? Sonic thought to himself, frowning annoyingly at the uniform. But since time was short he simply put on the uniform then his sneakers then grabbed the laser rifle & the sword, though he wasn't too happy about it. "Who need weapons when you got the dude with two shoes?" Sonic asked.

Trask moved to open the security door due to a lockdown, but he & Sonic stopped to another closed door. "That door's locked & I don't have any override codes." "No prob! Stand back!" Sonic said, getting into his Buzz Saw Spin & slicing open the door to reveal an orange echidna shooting at two white armored soldiers. But after a couple shots from the two white armored soldiers, the echidna fell to the ground dead. "These Sith must be the advanced boarding party!" Trask yelled. "FOR THE REPUBLIC!!" Trask then ran out & started to shoot at the two Sith soldiers. These are Sith? Sonic thought to himself, unimpressed. These look more like SwatBots! Oh well, more for me!! As fast as a blink of an eye, Sonic used his Spin Dash to zoom past the two unsuspecting Sith troopers, killing them instantly.

"How do you like that?" Sonic asked, standing & smiling. "And with no sword or guns too!" Trask took the few moments to search the remains of the fallen Sith soldiers for whatever they could use, then got up & ran past Sonic. "No time for showing off! We have to get to the bridge!" Just when Sonic started to follow Trask, they got a transmission. "This is Carth Onasi! The Sith have overrun our position! We can't hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge!!" That voice sounds so familiar.... Sonic thought to himself. "That was Carth contacting us through our portable communicators. He's one of the Republic's best pilots!" Trask explained. "He's seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire's crew put together! If he says things are bad, you'd better believe it! We have to get to the bridge to help defend Bastila!"

Sonic nodded but then a few steps ahead he stopped. "Um, where is the bridge anyway?" He asked. "There's a map of the Endar Spire & a copy of Carth's electronic journal just in case we get separated." Trask answered. Sonic nodded, chuckled, then looked at his journal. "Well that explains it." He shook his head, unimpressed. "Time to juice & cut it loose!" He then zoomed ahead, heading straight for the door but then realized he left Trask behind....& he was struggling to catch up. "I'm waiting!" Sonic said to Trask, tapping his foot impatiently. "Next time: please don't go so fast!" Trask requested. "Fine but I hate going this slow!" Sonic agreed, nodding & rolling his eyes.

After opening the door, they ran into a couple more Sith troopers. "Use your blaster this time!" Trask yelled. "D'oh man. If we fought my way, we could've been at the bridge by now!" Sonic complained under his breath while he readied his blaster, though he wasn't sure how to use it. "OK, now what does this....? YEOW!!" Sonic started but was interrupted when he fired two laser blasts at the Sith troopers. Both fell to the ground. "How'd it do that?" Sonic asked but Trask kept moving with Sonic following. They came down to a curved corridor with Trask stopping him. "They don't know we're here." Trask explained. "They're gonna know we're here anyway." Sonic grumbled, tapping his foot impatiently.

As soon as the Republic soldiers fell, with one Sith trooper also falling from friendly fire, Sonic then finally lost his patience. "That's it! I'm juicin'!" Sonic instantly zoomed out. "Wait!" Trask started but Sonic didn't hear him. By the time Trask caught up to Sonic, all the Sith troopers, including the ones waiting to ambush more Republic soldiers, have already fallen. "What are these?" Sonic asked, holding a white container. "That's a medpack." Trask answered. "It helps to heal your wounds." "Ah. Might come in handy." Sonic chuckled, tossing the medpacks into his packpack. They left the scene & after opening a door, they almost ran into another Sith, this time a red hedgehog. He was battling a female blue fox with tan clothes & they were blocking each others' attacks with red & blue laser swords.

"It's a Dark Jedi!" Trask yelled, stopping Sonic. "We better stay back. All we do is get in the way!" "You're getting in the way." Sonic grumbled under his breath. "If we helped her, we would've saved this Bastila by now!" By the time Sonic finished the Dark Jedi had already been slain by the Jedi woman but an explosion also killed her. "That was one of the Jedi defending Bastila!" Trask explained. "Damn! We could've used her help!" "No time for that!" Sonic pointed at the two Sith troopers coming out from a door & pointing their guns at them. "Eat this, road hogs!" Sonic yelled, using his Homing Attack to defeat the two Sith troopers. Sonic was just about to open another door when Trask stopped him.

"The bridge is just beyond that door. You better equip your melee weapon. There's not much room on the bridge & it's suicide to use a blaster in close quarters." Trask explained while he put away his blaster & pulled out a sword. "Wait a sec. What if they got those laser sword things?" Sonic asked. "Your melee weapon is made from a cortosis weave; it's strong enough to withstand anything, including a lightsaber." "Lightsaber? So that's what they're called?" Sonic asked, turning around & opening the door, putting his blaster away. They walked right into the middle of a fight between Sith troopers & Republic soldiers. Sonic grinned. "Win & spin time, slime balls!" Sonic said, starting to use his Tornado Spin to hurl the many Sith troopers around the room & having them crash into nearby computer consoles.

"Bastila's not here on the bridge. They must've retreated to the escape pods." Trask explained while an explosion killed the rest of the Sith & Republic soldiers. "The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's nothing stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire into galactic dust!" "That's our cue to juice!" Sonic nodded. "Hold on tight, we're gonna juice!" Trask grabbed onto Sonic just as he zoomed away but when they came to another door, Trask ran up ahead to another door. "There's something behind here...." he said as he opened a door to reveal a green hedgehog clad in black leather robes & boots. "Damn another Dark Jedi! I'll try to hold him off, you get to the escape pods! GO!!" Trask yelled as he walked into the room to battle the green hedgehog. "Wait!!" Sonic yelled but it was too late; the door had already shut after two explosions. That green hedgehog looks so familiar.... Sonic thought to himself but he knew there was no time for reminiscing. "I'm outta here!" He then opened a door & zoomed ahead for the hallway, leading to the escape pods.


	3. Escaping the Endar Spire

Chapter 2 - Escaping the Endar Spire

"This is Carth Onasi tracking your position through your personal communicator. I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems." Carth announced suddenly just after Sonic entered the hallway that lead straight to the escape pods. He sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it.... Sonic thought, snapping his fingers, trying to think of the name but was interrupted when Carth started speaking again. "Bastila's escape pod is away. I can't wait for you much longer. You have to get to the escape pods!" Sonic wasted no time zooming through the hallways, so fast that he knocked the unsuspecting Sith trooper out.

When he opened a door, he had to quickly find cover when two Sith troopers opened fire on him. After trying to figure out how to use his blaster rifle, he then shot the two Sith troopers. But just when Sonic walked into the room, he then got another transmission from Carth. "Be careful; there's a whole squad of Sith Troopers on the other side of that door. You need to find a way to thin their numbers. You could reprogram the Assault Droid to help you or you can slice in the terminal & use the Endar's security systems against the Sith." "Hm. Slice or repair?" Sonic asked, looking from the terminal to the droid & back to the terminal. "I wish Uncle Chuck was here; he's a genius in repairing robots, or droids or whatever they call them." Sonic said to himself, moving to the droid & just frantically placing the parts he found to fix the droid.

After a few tries, Sonic finally got the shields & the combat programming fixed on the droid. "About time!" Sonic sighed with relief as the droid simply walked to the door & readied its weapon. Sonic grabbed his blaster rifle & started shooting at the Sith troopers while the droid covered him. "Take this, slime wads!!" Sonic yelled as the last of the Sith troopers fell to the ground. After searching through the remains, Sonic found a really nice prototype vibroblade along with other items. "Ah what do we have here? Sure can use this!" Sonic chuckled. When he opened the door, he saw a red echidna in an orange jacket. _Oh! Now I know who he is! Knuckles! How can I be so stupid?!_ Sonic thought to himself, mentally kicking himself.

"You've made it just in time!" Carth yelled. "There's only one escape pod left! C'mon! We don't have much time!" "Who are you?" Sonic asked. "I'm a soldier with the Republic, like you. We're the only last crew members left on the Endar Spire. Bastila's escape pod's already gone so there's no reason for us to just stand here & get shot by the Sith. Come on!" Carth wasted no time getting inside the last remaining pod with Sonic just right behind him. "Wonder if Knucklehead can explain where I'm at?" Sonic whispered to himself. "What?" Carth asked. "Nothing." Sonic replied. After pressing a few buttons, Carth sat back & their pod instantly was launched from the ship. Just seconds after it was launched however, both Sonic & Carth looked out to see the Endar Spire explode in galactic dust.

"Hold on, we're entering the atmosphere!" Carth yelled as he saw the city just after they broke through the clouds. Sonic was awed while looking out at the city but only had a short time when Carth yelled out "Hold on! We're gonna crash!" Sonic quickly braced himself for impact & then a few seconds later, everything went black. Meanwhile he saw a familiar looking female with dark brownish-red hair, brown fur, & bright blue eyes wielding a yellow bladed lightsaber against a black fox wielding a red bladed lightsaber. The female in the end, seemed to have defeated the Dark Jedi. Sal? Sonic asked but the dream faded before he could see anything else.

"What was that?" Sonic groaned as he woke up. Then he looked around & got up from the bed & turned his attention to Knuckles, or at least the man who looked like Knuckles. "Good to see you up instead of thrashing about in your sleep." Carth smiled. "You must've had one hell of a nightmare. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. I'm Carth, one of the survivors of the Endar Spire. We escaped on one of the escape pods. Do you remember?" "Yeah." Sonic nodded, then gave a thumbs up to Carth. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. How did we get here?" "Well you been getting in & out of unconsciousness for a couple days now so you're probably confused about things. Try not to worry. We're safe, at least for the moment." Carth answered. "We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when we crashed but luckily I wasn't seriously hurt. I was able to drag you from the crash site in all the confusion & stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on the scene, we were long gone."

"The Sith? Who are they?" Sonic asked, rubbing his head, still confused. "Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've declared martial law, & they've imposed a planet-wide quarantine." "Well this certainly gets better & better." Sonic sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes. "But I've been in worse spots." Carth added. "I saw on your service records that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages." I do? Sonic thought. The only thing I understand is English! "That's pretty rare in a raw recruit." Carth continued. "But it should come in handy while we're stranded on a foreign world. There's no way that the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. So if we're gonna find Bastila & get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves."

"Bastila?" Sonic repeated. "She's the one from the Endar Spire, right?" Carth nodded. "But why is it so important for us to find her?" "That smack to your head did more damage than I thought." Carth chuckled. "Bastila is a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak's Sith Master. She is the key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must've found out she was on the Endar Spire & set an ambush for us in this system. I believe she was in one of the escape pods that crashed here on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try & find her."

"Wait a sec." Sonic said, tapping his foot. "How can one person, even this Jedi Bastila, be so important?" "She's no ordinary Jedi." Carth explained. "She has a rare gift called 'Battle Meditation'. Bastila's power can influence entire armies. Through the Force, she can inspire confidence in her allies & make her enemies lose their will to fight. Often that's all it takes to tip the tide in a battle. Of course there are limits to what she can do but from what I heard, it requires great meditation & focus to maintain her Battle Meditation. The attack on the Endar Spire happened so fast she didn't have time to use her Battle Meditation. Like us, she barely got out alive."

"What is this planet like?" Sonic asked. "Taris was once a--." Carth started but was interrupted by Sonic. "In the short version....& in English?" Sonic reminded. "English....?" Carth asked. "Oh you mean Basic! Well the planet's all one big city. But its golden years are long past. Things have gotten worse since the Sith occupied it. From what I hear, the wealthy live on the tops of all the tall towers & if you're poor, you live down in the shadows & it gets worse the lower you go. I've input all of the data in your datapad journal." "Alright." Sonic nodded, looking at his journal for all the data necessary on the planet. "Any idea on where we can look for Bastila?"

"While you were out I did some scouting around." Carth answered. "There are reports of a couple escape pods that crashed into the Undercity. Probably a good place to start. But the Undercity is a dangerous place. We don't wanna go in there unprepared. It won't do Bastila any good if we go & get ourselves killed." "The sooner we start looking for Bastila, the sooner we find her. But I wanna scout this planet a bit." Sonic said. "Good idea, we can use this apartment as a base. We can also get some new equipment & supplies here in the Upper City. Just remember to keep a low profile. I heard some grim stories about the Sith interrogation techniques. They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind! It can wipe away your memories & destroy your very identity! But I figure if we don't do anything stupid we should be alright. I mean they're looking for Bastila, not a couple grunts like us." "Couple of grunts?" Sonic asked, raising his eyebrow in confusion but Carth ignored him. "Alright, soldier, let's move out!"

Sonic just sighed, then took his new vibroblade & walked over to a workbench. He took out some objects & started playing around a bit. "Hm. Maybe I can make this baby cut through Sith slimeballs better." He chuckled. After a while he finally successfully forged his new weapon. "Man this baby cranks serious!" He smiled as he waved his vibroblade around. "Hey, Carth, can you explain a bit about yourself?" "Me? Well I've been a Republic star pilot for years. I've seen more than my share of wars. Fought in the Mandalorian Wars before all this started." Carth explained. "But with all that, I've never experienced anything like those Sith monsters could unleash. Not even the Mandalorians were that senseless. My homeworld was among the first to fall to Malak's fleet. The Sith bombed it into submission & there wasn't a damn thing our Republic forces could do to stop them."

"I'm sorry." Sonic tried to apologize. "I'm just a soldier." Carth continued. "I go where the fleet admirals tell me to. I follow my orders & I do my duties. It's just....doesn't seem right that doing that means I failed them. I didn't!!" Even though Sonic had been friends with Knuckles for years & understood his short temper, he was surprised of Carth's outburst. "Relax, man. I didn't mean to upset you." Sonic tried to explain. "I know. Don't worry about it." Carth nodded, trying to calm down. "I must not be making much sense. You probably mean well with your questions but I'm not accustomed to talking about my past very much. At all, actually. I'm more used to taking action; keeping my mind focused on the task at hand, so let's just do that. So if you have more questions, ask them later." Sonic nodded & they both walked to the apartment door. Weird. Even Knuckles back home is not that reluctant into talking about his past. Sonic thought to himself.


	4. Welcome to Taris

Chapter 3 - Welcome to Taris

"OK, you alien scum!" A Sith soldier demanded just as Sonic & Carth exited their apartment. "This is a raid!" Oh great, a Sith....& he's accompanied by Badniks! Sonic thought to himself as he saw two Buzz Bombers accompanying the Sith soldier. But instead of the blue & black color that he recognized, they had an odd white color scheme. "But a Sith patrol was just here yesterday & found nothing!" one of the aliens, a Duro, tried to explain. "Why do you Sith keep bothering us?!"

The Sith just answered by firing his blaster at the Duro, killing him instantly. "Man, Carth, you weren't kidding about the Sith!" Sonic whispered to Carth. "That's how we Sith deal with smart mouth aliens!" The Sith soldier laughed. "Now the rest of you get up against the wall before I lose my temper again!" "Yo, Carth, we better juice or else we're gonna get into more mondo trouble." Sonic whispered to Carth. "Hey what's this?" The Sith soldier asked, noticing Sonic & Carth just trying to sneak away. "Too late now, Sonic." Carth whispered. "Rodents hiding out with aliens?" The Sith soldier asked, but his eyes lit up a few seconds later. "They're Republic fugitives! Attack!!"

Sonic then got into his Spin Dash while Carth reached for his personal blaster & started shooting at the Sith soldier. Sonic then shot forward with his Buzz Saw Spin & instantly destroyed the Buzz Bombers to pieces within microseconds, surprising everyone, including Carth. Carth used the opportunity to shoot the distracted Sith soldier. The Sith fell to the ground dead after Carth fired one shot. "Poor Ixgil." The Duro mourned. "He shouldn't have talked back to that Sith. Thankfully you were here to step in & help us." "No prob!" Sonic smiled, giving a thumbs up. "This isn't the first time the Sith have come in here & caused trouble for us." The Duro continued. "But hopefully it will be the last."

"Won't the Sith come searching for this patrol?" Sonic asked. "Don't worry about the bodies." The Duros explained. "I'll move them so they'll look like they were killed elsewhere. That should throw the Sith off the track. With any luck they won't be bothering us again for a while." Sonic nodded then started to zoom around the apartment, hoping to find the exit. "Major headache!" Sonic exclaimed as he ventured around the apartment ring for the 15th time in less than a minute. He stopped to see Carth already at a door, tapping his foot. "Exit already, eh?" Sonic chuckled. "Yup." Carth nodded, annoyed.

After they took the elevator, Sonic opened the door to reveal the Upper City of Taris. "Way cool!" Sonic exclaimed to himself, looking around, ignoring the crash site of their escape pod, then walking up the walkway. "Is this a good time to ask you more questions, Carth?" "I guess I did say you could ask me questions later, did I?" Carth asked. "Is this really necessary." "Not if you have a problem with it." Sonic chuckled. "No. I don't have a problem with it." Carth chuckled. "Go ahead & interrogate me." Sonic turned quickly to Carth when he heard Carth "interrogate him". "What's with the interrogation stuff?" Sonic asked. "I was being serious."

"Nah I was just joking." Carth laughed. "Though you do seem to be full of questions. It's quite refreshing to be honest. Let me ask you something though. I've been going through the battle over & over in my head now. Some things just don't add up for me. Maybe you can tell me something from your perspective." Sonic thought for a moment, tapping his foot impatiently since he just wanted to run & explore the Upper City. "Well my answer is the same: Bastila didn't have time to use her powers."

"True." Carth nodded. "Bastila is as powerful as anyone says. She's the one who defeated Darth Revan after all. But no matter how powerful, we'll end up being completely outmatched by surprises." "With good reason." Sonic agreed. "Can we go? I'm itching to--." "OK fine!" Carth growled, rolling his eyes. "I was wondering, how fast can you really go?" Sonic smirked. "You wanna see speed?" "Sure but--." Carth started but was interrupted with the sudden rush of wind of Sonic zooming off into the distance. "Why do I get the feeling Bastila is not going to like this man?"

Sonic grinned as he finally got the chance to show Carth "real" speed. Of course he was aware of the Sith's Buzz Bombers & a few other Badniks that he recognized from Mobius. He just rolled into his Buzz Saw Spin & sliced the enemies right in half, freeing the prisoners inside from the Badniks. Good to see the good ole' Rings made it here as well! Sonic thought to himself, collecting as many Rings as possible before crossing a few loops within microseconds. "Attention, Sith forces!" Sonic heard from his comm. "What the??" Sonic asked himself, adjusting his comm to another frequency. "Attention Sith forces! We're receiving reports of a blue hedgehog running at speeds far off the scale! Send a squadron of Sith Fighters to investigate! If it's a Republic fugitive, terminate by any means!"

"Whoop! Sounds like trouble!" Sonic gulped as he saw five Sith Fighters come up behind him. He then turned around & starting running backwards, something he hadn't done since he was challenged by Dr. Robotnik until it was revealed to him that it was Metal Sonic just before he turned into Metal Madness. Sonic smirked at them & waved. "Hey, guys! Catch me if you can!" "I....don't believe.....this!" The Sith Pilot exclaimed. "What's going on there?!" the Sith Commander demanded on the Pilot's comm. "We found the target but.....he's running backwards at the same speed without looking back!" another Sith Pilot answered. "How is he doing that?!" Another Pilot exclaimed. "No matter! Take him out!" Another Pilot demanded, opening fire on Sonic.

"Yeeoow!!" Sonic exclaimed, jumping & then turning around, running forward again. He Quick-Stepped side to side, avoiding the fire of the Sith Fighters. "Did you get him?" one Sith Pilot asked. "No, he's too fast!" another Pilot answered. "How did he get so fast?!" the third Pilot asked. "We're not even close to hitting him!" Sonic then grinned as he pulled out one Power Ring & then dashed back behind the Fighters. When the Power Ring glowed, he then got into his Buzz Saw Spin & used his Homing Attack to hit one of the Sith Fighters' engines. "I'm hit!! I'm hit!!" The Pilot of the Fighter exclaimed. "I'm going down!!" Sonic jumped onto the cockpit. "See ya next fall!!" Sonic yelled as he used his homing attack on another Sith Fighters' wing then zoomed right onto the cockpit of another.

"YOU!!" The Pilot of the Fighter growled, pulling his blaster pistol. He then set his fighter to autopilot & tried to shoot Sonic but Sonic jumped out of the way, zooming behind the Pilot just when he shot his own engine. "Awww, too bad! Now it's broken!" Sonic teased. "But nice shootin'!" Sonic jumped off of the fighter & moved to the final fighter just when the Pilot tried to shoot Sonic again but missed. Sonic struggled to open the cockpit door. "Trick question: can this thing go in reverse?" Sonic asked, randomly pushing a few buttons. Right when Sonic pushed the latter button, he felt the Fighter jerk & slowly move backwards. "Yup." Sonic chuckled nodding & then blocked a blow from the Pilot & tossed him out of the fighter.

"Now.....how do you fly these things?" He asked himself. "Can't be that hard. Let's try this." Sonic moved the controls to the left, causing the ship to veer to the side, having Sonic push the same button as before & having it fly forward. "Piece of cake." Sonic sighed in relief, turning off the autopilot. "Flies just like the Tornado. Ah the good ole' days!" Just then he felt his Fighter shake & noticed that the engine of his ship was damaged & on fire. He looked to see what happened & saw that numerous Sith Troopers & Buzz Bombers were firing on his Fighter. "D'oh man! Don't they ever get tired?" Sonic rolled his eyes, climbing out of the fighter just before it crashed. "Sir, blue hedgehog has destroyed our squad & had stolen one of our fighters. Luckily we shot it down with the hedgehog on board!" One of the Sith Troopers announced on the comm. "Good." The Sith Commander sneered on the comm. "Did you get a confirmation on the hedgehog's identity?" "We couldn't get a perfect visual, sir." The Sith Trooper answered. "He was moving too fast." "Never mind then." The Sith Commander shrugged. "If he was one of those Republic Fugitives, consider him terminated! Return to your regular duties!" The Sith Troopers nodded, & resumed their patrols.

Meanwhile, Carth was waiting near one of the shops, tapping his foot impatiently when he saw Sonic zoom right up behind him, smirking. "Where were you??!!" Carth asked, trying not to shout loudly with Sith Troopers nearby. "I was showing you real speed." Sonic answered, trying to explain. "You nearly got yourself killed, damaged Tarisian property, & last but not least, you drew the attention of the Sith!!" Carth yelled furiously, trying to grab Sonic's throat. "Relax, will ya?" Sonic laughed. "From what I heard on their comm channel, they couldn't get a visual of me because I was too fast, I'm faster than those hover-junks that they're flyin' around, & they already think I'm dead! So we're clear." Sonic chuckled, walking past Carth & towards the cantina. "Republic's gonna give me hell when they hear about this." Carth whispered to himself, struggling to catch up to Sonic, even though Sonic was barely jogging.


	5. Duels with Worthy Opponents

Chapter 4 - Duels with Worthy Opponents

Upon entering the Upper City Cantina, Sonic stopped & looked around the place, getting used to the sights & sounds of the crowd. "Man, way cool!" Sonic smirked. "You're too young to drink, Sonic." Carth reminded. "I checked your personal logs." Sonic chuckled. "Who needs to drink in a place like this? I'm sure there's action!" Sonic asked, jogging ahead until he came across a female orange-brown manx with brown hair that was all-too familiar to Sonic. _Tiara?_ Sonic asked, frowning. _Wonder what she's up to this time._

"Hi there." The woman, who was Tiara Boobowski to Sonic, greeted to Sonic much to his surprise. "I don't think I've seen you around here before. The Sith Officers at the base usually don't give us any time off." "How come you're not dressed like the other Sith around here?" Sonic asked. "I'm off-duty right now." She answered. "My name is Sarna, first-class officer of the Sith occupation force." "Nice to meet ya, Sarna." Sonic smiled. "My name is Sonic the Hedgehog!" "I'm a little surprised you're talking to me at all." Sarna smiled. "Most people here usually give us Sith officers here a hard time. Comes with the territory." "I can see that." Sonic nodded. "Rich people sure do have some kind of attitude problem."

"Exactly!" Sarna agreed. "It's all about attitude! I didn't ask to be assigned to this backwater planet but I try to make the best of it! It's pretty easy to get depressed on an assignment like this but we do what we can to keep our spirits up." "Well maybe you need to blow off some steam?" Sonic asked. "That's true. It's nice to meet someone who understand what I'm going through." Sarna agreed, smiling. "It's good to talk about this stuff; get's pretty lonely at the military base." Meanwhile, Carth was sitting at one of the chairs, impatiently waiting for Sonic to end his conversation with a Sith & was also hoping that he wouldn't blow their cover, even in front of an off-duty Sith soldier.

"Listen I've got to get going soon. I've got a shift at the military base." Sarna announced. "But some of us junior Sith officers are having a party later to blow off some steam." Sonic started to feel uncomfortable when Sarna started to move a little too close to him. "I'd really like to see you again." She continued, smirking. "Why don't you drop by the party? I'll show you where it is on your map." "Sounds good." Sonic nodded. "I'll be there." "Don't be late." Sarna added. "We're starting right after our shifts end. Most of us won't even be going back to the base to lock up our uniforms. I look forward to seeing you there." With a wink, she quickly left the cantina, right past a fuming Carth glaring at Sonic.

"What was that?!" Carth asked, growling. "Are you trying to blow our cover?!" "Relax, Knucklehead." Sonic assured Carth, smirking. "Remember when you asked me how fast I could run & the Sith Fighters were trying to shoot me down not ten minutes ago? I made them think that I'm dead when I jumped out of one of their hover heads just before it crashed. Besides how many blue hedgehogs do you see around here?" Carth just shrugged & covered his face with his hand as he & Sonic ventured into another room, where the duelists were waiting for their next match. After paying no attention to a couple spectators bickering, Sonic watched as two combatants entered the Dueling Ring & saw one opponent defeat the other with ease, mostly due to the fact that the other opponent dropped his blaster & was shot down with one blast before he could retrieve it.

After the match was over, Sonic wondered around, with the other duelists giving him a cold stare other than the elder duelist. Some of the duelists snapped a few words at him as he passed them by but the elder chatted with Sonic for a while about what the Duel Ring is, info on the escape pods, & the other duelists. After that, Sonic walked up to a muttering Hutt, eager to get more information or at least join the Tarisian Dueling Circuit. "I'm sorry, hedgehog." The Hutt said to Sonic in his language of Huttese. "The betting window's closed. No more fights right now. People are sick of seeing the same duelists all the time. It's bad for business. Unless…." The Hutt took a close look at Sonic & grinned while Sonic looked at his watch, tapping his foot impatiently & waiting for the Hutt to finish his muttering. "My name is Ajuur. I organize all the duels here. We need a new face in the dueling game, hedgehog. Maybe you want to step into the duel ring? It can be a highly profitable venture."

_About time he stopped! _Sonic thought to himself, frowning at Ajuur. _Can't stand to wait around for 30 seconds!_ "Sure." Sonic nodded, smirking a little. "I can arrage for you to fight in the duel ring if you want." Ajuur explained, with Sonic tapping his foot impatiently again. _Great, more yappin'!_ Sonic thought to himself, looking at his watch. _He better not be yapping all day! Gotta find this Bastila now! Hope all these delays are worth it._ "If you win, you get 10% of the wager." Ajuur continued. "And don't worry, nobody dies in the duel ring anymore. Death matches are illegal now." _Well that's a relief. _Sonic thought to himself, rolling his eyes with impatience. "Most fighters in the duel ring use vibroblades or stun sticks because the ring's pretty small, but a few of the duelists use blasters. Use whichever you prefer."

"Vibroblades & blasters? And nobody ever dies?" Carth repeated. "How come I get the feeling you're trying to take us for a ride?" "The duel ring has energy supressor fields to make sure nobody dies." Ajuur continued. "Weapons are limited so they hurt, but don't kill. And we got a medic droid in case of serious injuries. Are you interested?" "OK, I'll do it." Sonic finally agreed. "Good! More blood for the ring!" Ajuur laughed, greed in his eyes. "But you need a nickname, like Ice or Deadeye or Twitch. Good nicknames make people bet more. Hmmm….what is a good nickname for you?" Ajuur thought for a moment. "You're an off-worlder….you're new here….people won't recognize you….I know! From now on in the duel ring you'll be known as the 'Mysterious Stranger'!"

"Say what?!" Sonic asked, widening his eyes in shock. "That's a terrible name!" "The Mysterious Stranger is a perfect name for you." Ajuur explained. "You've got no past, no history….it makes you seem like you have some big, dark secret! People like that; makes them bet more." "This is for the best." Carth added. "We could use these credits from these duels but using your name is too risky. The Sith might have come across a crew manifest from the Endar Spire." "Yeah but can't I choose my own nickname?" Sonic asked. "How about 'Fastest Thing Alive' or 'Blue Streak'?" "You ready for a duel now?" Ajuur asked, ignoring them. "You want to step into the ring right away? I'll set you up with Deadeye Duncan to start. I'll tell you the rules if you're ready."

"Yes." Sonic answered, sighing & reluctantly accepting his nickname. "I'm ready for a duel." "Yes!" Ajuur laughed in excitement. "You fight & people bet & I make money! It's all good. Only one rule: nobody dies. Your opponent goes down, you don't finish them off. Death matches are illegal now. You're new at this so I'll start you off easy. You get to fight Deadeye Duncan. Are you ready to go into the ring now?" "Let's do it to it!" Sonic answered, giving his usual smirk & giving a thumbs up. Within moments he was led down to the duel ring by one of Ajuur's spectators with Carth not following. When he entered the ring with his opponent at the other end, he looked around in awe. "Way cool!" He whispered to himself.

"Ladies & gentlemen!" The announcer began. "Draw your eyes to the center ring! We have a very special presentation in store for you! You've seen him lose night after night after night. But this time he's after fresh meat! In this corner, I give you: Deadeye Duncan! And in the other corner, a relative newcomer to the Taris dueling scene. Emerging from the shadows with no history, no past, & no name….the Mysterious Stranger!" Sonic sighed & rolled his eyes. But before he knew it he saw Deadeye Duncan rushing towards him….or at least in his direction. Sonic tried not to laugh as he saw Duncan constantly dropping his blaster & picking it up while he tried to run over to Sonic for a clearer shot. Sonic easily dodged Duncan's shot by just taking a step to the left.

"So this is why you're called 'Deadeye' hm?" Sonic asked. "No wonder you're always in dead last. Check this!" Sonic charged up in a Spin Dash & after a few seconds, he zoomed forward, knocking Duncan off of his feet, & skidding to a halt just in time to see Duncan flip in the air a few times & landing on his back. "Yeah!" Sonic yelled in triumph. "Way past cool!" "It's over! The fight is over! The Mysterious Stranger has won!" The announcer announced while Sonic waited for the crowd to cheer. "But really? Are any of us surprised? Deadeye losing isn't news. You'll have to do better than that to impress us, Stranger!" "Say what?!" Sonic asked, shocked. "D'oh man."

When Sonic got back to the Cantina, he saw that no one was even bothering to look at him. He knew that Deadeye's lack of talent was legendary, thus the reason why no one was impressed. "I see you've got your feet wet in the duel ring." Marl spoke to Sonic when he first walked in the room. "Not bad. You've got real talent, kid. Stick with it & you'll go places." Sonic nodded & just march right up to Ajuur & collected his first 100 credits while stranded in this strange galaxy, also ignoring Duncan's defeated remarks. "Here ya go." Ajuur stated when he handed the money to Sonic. "10% is the deal. I always pay my debts." "Hold on a Sonic second." Sonic stopped while he placed the credits in his backpack. "I'm not done yet! When can I go for another duel?" "Wanna step up to the big leagues?" Gerlon Two-Fingers asked Sonic. "I'll show you how to fight a real duelist!"

"Save it for the Duel Ring." Ajuur said to them. "You fought well last time. People like you, Stranger." _Yeah sure._ Sonic thought to himself. "They bet lots on your last fight. They'll bet more on your next fight. You get 10%, same as always." Ajuur continued. "Are you ready to prove yourself against the best duelists of Taris?" "Ready as always." Sonic answered. "You handled Duncan pretty well." Ajuur complimented Sonic. "I think you're ready to face Gerlon Two-Fingers. Just remember: Gerlon uses blasters in the ring sometimes. You ready to step into the arena?" "As before: let's do it to it!" Sonic answered. "I'll be seeing you there, hedgehog." Gerlon taunted Sonic as they were escorted to the duel ring.

"In this corner, one of the greats, a man so tough even a disfiguring injury couldn't end his career! I give you Gerlon Two-Fingers!" The announcer said while Sonic impatiently waited in his corner, tapping his foot. "And in the other corner a relative newcomer to the Taris dueling scene. Emerging from the shadows with no history, no past, & no name….the Mysterious Stranger!" Sonic got ready & saw Gerlon pull out his blaster, despite the fact that his other fingers seem to dangle. But that didn't stop him from taking a few shots at Sonic, a few that almost hit him. "Yeeoow!!" Sonic yelped as the shots barely missed him as he moved left & right. "So, ya wanna play, huh?" He then used his super speed & zoomed forward towards Gerlon. Gerlon chuckled as he shot towards Sonic's feet & the floor, expecting him to use his Spin Dash attack. However Sonic used a different tactic; he simply jumped up, got into his Sonic Spin, & used his Homing Attack to hit Gerlon in the torso. But he wasn't down yet. Sonic skidded to a halt as he saw Gerlon ready his blaster for another shot. Before he could, Sonic zoomed forward, rolled into a ball, & knocked Gerlon right off his feet. Like the previous battle with Duncan before, Sonic skidded to a halt just in time to see Gerlon fall on his stomach.

"Gerlon losing to a rookie!" The announcer announced. "Is this a sign that his injuries have finally caught up with him? Or is the Mysterious Stranger for real? Only time will tell!" When he got back to the Cantina, Sonic had his smug grin while Carth rolled his eyes. "I hope you're not gonna have that big of an ego when you meet Bastila." "Chill, Carth." Sonic said. "I promise I'll be on my best behavior." "You beat me fair & square, Stranger." Gerlon spoke to Sonic as he limped into the room. "But if I had the use of my fingers, you wouldn't have won. Back before my injury I would've the ring up with you!" Sonic just ignored him & went to Ajuur to get his credits, now 200 this time. "Y'know, I can do this all day!" Sonic grinned. "You want to set up another fight, right?" Ajuur asked, laughing & admiring Sonic's attitude for dueling. "The ring is in your blood now, like a virus. You need to hear the cheers of the crowd, you need the rush of battle, you need to fight ag--." "Yeah yeah." Sonic interrupted. "All I want is some rush for adventure. But this counts. Who's up next?"

"I think you're ready to go against Ice, hedgehog." Ajuur answered. "She's tough but so are you. There'll be lots action on this fight….a huge purse! You ready?" "I've been ready right when I beat the last guy!" Sonic answered. While he was heading for the duel ring, Ice shot him a nasty glare. "You another one of those slobbering, goggled-eyed men?" She asked him. "I'm here to fight in the duel ring, not make friends! So back off!" "Wow! That was cold!" Sonic exclaimed. _Though I didn't even say anything to you._ "Now you know why they call me 'Ice'." She added. Sonic just rolled his eyes while he stood in his corner of the dueling ring, listening to the announcer's commentaries. "Over in this corner, a woman with steel in her bones & ice water in her veins. She's cold & quick as death itself! You know her, you love her….Ice! And in the other corner, a rising star taking that first step into the big leagues. I give you….the Mysterious Stranger!"

With that, Sonic charged forward towards Ice, expecting her to draw her blaster but she watched him & drew her vibroblade & hit Sonic with her hilt, causing him to crash into the nearby wall but he quickly recovered. "Did that hurt?" Ice asked in her mocking tone. "Not as much as it'll hurt you when I do this!" Sonic answered, jumping & using his Homing Attack to hit her at her shoulder. Yelping in pain, she then tried to hit Sonic again but she missed due to his speed. "Man I thought I would never have to use this sword again." Sonic grumbled to himself. "Should've been easy enough with my hedgehog moves." He then jogged to the center of the ring & saw Ice charge at him. But he just stepped to the side & held his leg out, causing her to trip as she rushed passed him. "Guess I won't need you anyway." Sonic chuckled, looking at his sword & tossing it in his backpack.

But his smile disappeared when he saw Ice recover quickly, getting up with an enraged glare on her face. "I….don't believe it!" Sonic's eyes widened when Ice yelled while charging. Sonic barely had any time to jump up in the air to avoid her charge. He then charged up his Spin Dash & waited for a few more seconds. When she charged again, he then zoomed forward & knocked her off of her feet. When he skidded to a halt, he saw her land on her feet almost perfectly. "It's gonna take more than that to beat me in this round, hedgehog!" Ice grinned. "Really now?" Sonic asked. "Well let's find out shall we? Bring it on, Ice!!"

Ice quickly pulled her blaster pistol & attempted to shoot Sonic, but he jumped out of the way & tried to use his Homing Attack on her. But she used the side of her vibroblade to smack Sonic away. When he landed, he got up just in time to see her throw her vibroblade at him while he barely had time to dodge. Jumping up & seeing the vibroblade barely miss him, he then got into his Sonic Spin Dash & zoomed right towards her, knocking her off of her feet & skidding to a halt to see her land on her stomach. "Aren't death matches illegal?" Sonic asked, panting & wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Ice is knocked out cold!" The announcer announced. "Looks like we have a rising star in the Mysterious Stranger, folks. But how high can this star soar? You'll just have to watch & see!" Sonic returned to the dueling spectator room with Carth giving him some water. "You alright?" He asked. "I need a chili dog." Sonic muttered, huffing & puffing for air. "Well you might need to get your credits first." Carth suggested, with Sonic just slowly moving to Ajuur & collecting his credits, this time now 300 credits. After walking out of the dueling spectator room & looked around, wondering where to find a place to buy a chili dog. After noticing the waiter serving drinks & food to the customers in another room, Sonic zoomed into the room, right in front of the waiter.

"Two chili dogs with the wurst, pal!" Sonic requested. "You got it!" The waiter nodded, heading for the counter to get him & Carth their order. "Where did you get those clothes??!!" a female voice asked Sonic. He looked around until he saw a girl glaring at him. "A trash compactor in the Lower City? And where are those drinks we ordered?!" Sonic was confused when she started making demands at him. "Um…..what are you talking about? We just came in here." "Careful with what you say." Carth whispered to Sonic. "I get the feeling this spoiled brat could be more trouble than she's worth." "Why is the help so incompetent?!" The woman whined. "One word from daddy & you could get fired!" "Calm down." Sonic assured, trying to use his charm. "Lemme go get that drink." "That's better." The woman grinned. "Now hurry up with our order!" "Here are your drinks, Ms. Lavin." The waiter said to the woman. "I apologize for the delay."

Sonic tilted his head up & smiled as he could smell the chili dogs, even before they arrived. "Here ya go." The waiter announced. "Sorry for the delay." "Heh. No prob." Sonic smiled. "No need to apologize." "Wait, are you the Mysterious Stranger?" The waiter asked. "Yeah but--." Sonic started but the waiter interrupted him. "I can't believe the newest duelist is here! How about a dozen chili dogs on the house?" Before Sonic could protest, the waiter walked back to the counter.

"Should've just left him a tip." Sonic groaned. "Saved the world countless times & they still treat me as if I'm--." "It could be worse, Sonic." Carth explained. "You could be seen as a soldier who has seen & done it all & could do no wrong." "What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked, tilting his head in curiosity. "Not now." Carth immediately refused, just when the waiter laid the plate of a dozen chili dogs on their table. "Enjoy, Stranger." The waiter smiled, with Sonic covering his face with his hand. "At least I gave him his tip." "What?" Carth asked. "I didn't see you…." "Too fast for the naked eye." Sonic boasted, swallowing two chili dogs in one gulp. Within minutes, the plate went from a dozen to a couple chili dogs.

"How can you eat like that?!" Carth asked, finishing his chili dog. "This hedgehog's gotta eat to keep goin." Sonic explained. "Can't juice on an empty stomach." "Yeah but how can you eat so many so quickly?" Carth asked. "Heh. I got used to it." Sonic answered, gulping down yet another chili dog. "You gonna eat that?" Sonic asked, eyeing the last chili dog while Carth just stared at it. "You gonna munch on this or what?" Sonic asked again, waving his hand slowly in front of Carth's eyes. "Goin….goin…." Sonic started then quickly took the chili dog & swallowed it in one bite. "….Outta here! Let's move!" Carth shrugged as he got up from the table & followed Sonic. _This is gonna be a long day._ He thought to himself.

"Leave me alone. I'm not signing any auto prints today." A armored warrior refused just as Sonic walked by. "What are you talking about?" Sonic asked. "I was just--." "What? You don't recognize me?" The warrior asked. "I'm Bendak Starkiller! The most famous blaster slinger on Taris! Over 100 duels without a loss, every one of them a death match!"_ So this is the "legendary" Bendak Starkiller._ Sonic thought sarcastically in his head. "How come you're not competing anymore?" Sonic asked. "I'm retired now." Bendak answered. "Once death matches became illegal I just got bored with the game. I have no interest in using stun blasters!" He then took a couple steps closer to Sonic, showing that he towered over the four foot hedgehog. "I've seen you in the duel ring but you haven't impressed me. Come back when you have beaten all these other pretenders!"

Sonic just shook his head in annoyance when he walked out of the Cantina with Carth. "That guy is a jerk." Sonic grumbled. "Even if it wasn't a death match I can still beat him easily!" "Sonic you dunno who or what he is, do you?" Carth asked with concern. "Bendak Starkiller is a Mandalorian warrior. I never seen him in the Mandalorian Wars but from what I've heard of him, he's just like all the bloodthirsty Mandalorians I've come across." "I see." Sonic nodded. "But who needs armor & blasters when you have the fastest two feet & the sharpest quills? But 'nuff said. Let's go to that party; we might find a clue to finding Bastila!" Sonic then started jogging again, having Carth to struggle to keep up. "I'm getting too old for this." Carth muttered & grumbled as he struggled to catch up.


	6. Tarisian Corruption

Chapter 5 - Tarisian Corruption

"Hello. What's this?" Sonic asked, opening the door to another building & walking inside. When he entered, he saw a few tanks full of a bubbling clear liquid, a table with a middle-aged man working on a few instruments, & with a computer with a younger assistant working on a few things. "Hello?" Sonic asked, walking inside. "New to this Taris planet. Can anyone give me directions or any info on where to get more supplies?" "Sonic!" Carth quietly yelled at Sonic. "Don't be rude." "It is alright. I understand his impatience." The middle-aged man assured calmly. "It's not like he's the only one. Still you are welcome here. It's not like Zelka Forn will refuse anyone. Do you need healing or medical supplies? I can treat almost any ailment here….except the rakghoul disease of course."

"What's the rakghoul disease?" Sonic asked. "The terrible affliction has plagued Taris for many generations." Zelka answered, explaining. "It is spread by the rakghouls; horrible monsters that live in the Undercity below Taris' great skyscrapers. Prolonged exposure breeds the disease & those infected will eventually transform into rakghouls themselves, becoming mindless beasts who feed on the flesh of others." "That's terrible." Sonic commented, shaking his head in shock & disbelief. "Isn't there a cure for this?" "Hmmm. There is no cure for the disease." Zelka answered. _No cure?_ Sonic thought to himself. _Why is the Tarisian government sending people to the Undercity just to make them suffer more? I think I like it better back on Mobius than this dump!_

"Though I heard that the Republic scientists at the military base here on Taris were close to perfecting a cure." Zelka continued. _Well that's a relief._ Sonic thought to himself, sighing with relief. "Then the Sith arrived." Zelka added, shaking his head. "They overran the military base & now they refused to allow anyone to access the laboratories inside. The Sith are keeping all the serum for the patrols they send down to the Undercity." _Sounds like what RoButtnik would do._ Sonic thought to himself, knowing how much of Robotnik's selfishness was equal to the Sith's. "If I could just get my hands on a sample of that serum, the rakghoul disease could be wiped from the face of Taris forever. But I don't see how that's going to happen." Zelka continued, showing his determination to finally make a cure for the horrible disease.

"What if I could help you get your hands on that serum?" Sonic asked. "I don't see how anyone could get their hands on that serum." Zelka answered. "The military base is crawling with Sith guards. Breaking in their would be a suicide mission. I suppose the Sith patrols in the Undercity might have a sample of the serum on them, if they hadn't already used it because of a rakghoul infection. But I doubt that a patrol would just hand the serum over. And nobody's stupid enough to attack one of the Sith patrols, even in the Undercity." "Well if you want the rakghoul serum, I'll find a sample for ya; I'm there & back before you knew I was even gone!" Sonic said to Zelka, finishing with a snap of his fingers. "Please don't say that!" Zelka hushed Sonic. "If the Sith hear you they might think I'm suggesting you start attack one of their patrols! They could shut me down! I only mentioned the serum because you asked. I don't expect anyone to get me the serum. Now is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No. I'm outta here." Sonic answered. Goodbye & good health to you." Zelka said, smiling. "If you need any medical aid or treatment, you know where to find me." Sonic nodded & the two Republic soldiers started to jog out of the medical station until they were stopped by Zelka's assistant, Gurney. "Psst! You there! Wait a minute! I need to talk to you about the rakghoul serum. I've got an offer you wanna hear!" "What do you mean?" Sonic asked. "Zelka isn't the only one who wants to get his hands on the rakghoul serum." Gurney explained. "Davik Kang will pay you ten times what Zelka can if you can get the cure." Sonic thought about it for a few moments. _Hmmm. Well we could use the money._ Sonic thought. _But is all that money worth the lives of hundreds suffering?_ "No way!" Sonic refused. "I'm giving the serum to Zelka; he'll use it to help people." "Helping people is all well & good, but you have to help yourself first, right?" Gurney asked, hoping to change Sonic's mind. "I'm telling you, Davik will pay big credits for the cure!" "And then only the rich could afford the cure. Just let the poor suffer, right?" Carth asked, displeased by Gurney's selfish request. "Good point." Sonic agreed. "If you find the rakghoul serum, just take it to Zax in the Lower City bounty office." Gurney instructed, ignoring Carth's remark. "He works for Davik. He'll pay you what the cure is really worth!"

Sonic shook his head & he & Carth jogged out of the medical station. "What a jerk." Sonic muttered to Carth. "Why does Zelka keep a slime ball like him around?" Carth asked back. "I dunno." Sonic answered. "But I don't care what he says, I'm giving that serum to Zelka &-." "Davik says you missed your last payment!" Sonic was interrupted when he & Carth came across a couple of bounty hunters, one human & one Mobian dog, bullying a helpless old man. "Davik doesn't like it when you miss payments!" The other bounty hunter added. "Here, I've got 50 credits. A down payment." The man explained, trying to convince the bounty hunters to leave him alone. "That should buy me some time right?" "Sorry, you're outta time." The human bounty hunter refused. "Now it's all or nothing! Davik can't have people not paying his debts!" "But I don't have that much." The man explained. "How can I give you credits I don't have?" "That's too bad." The other bounty hunter shook his head. "Davik's gonna want to make an example of you! You're coming with us." "No! Help! Somebody help!" The man pleaded, hoping anyone would help save his life. "They're going to kill me!"

"I know we have to be careful about drawing attention to ourselves but are we just gonna let them drag this guy off?" Carth asked Sonic. "Hold on a sec." The human bounty hunter stopped, noticing Sonic & Carth. "Looks like we got ourselves a witness here." "Davik doesn't like witnesses." The dog bounty hunter added. "Hey why don't you two slime balls pick on someone your own size?" Sonic yelled at the bounty hunters. "Guess we have to teach you to mind your own business!" The dog bounty hunter growled, pulling his blaster pistol & immediately shooting at Sonic, who jumped to miss the shot & then used his Spin Dash to knock out the dog bounty hunter while Carth shot the human bounty hunter & then shot the dog bounty hunter, making sure he was dead. "Thank you! I owe you my life!" The man thanked Sonic & Carth. "Those bounty hunters were going to take me away & kill me. My wife warned me not to take a loan from Davik. But now I can't pay him back! It's not good to owe a crime lord money! He'll just keep sending more bounty hunters after me until I'm dead!"

"Maybe I can help ya." Sonic suggested. "You already helped me by saving me from those bounty hunters." The man explained. "So unless you have a spare 100 credits to give me so I can pay off Davik, there's nothing else you can do." Sonic then checked his pocket & saw the money he made so far from the few duels he fought in.& counted, putting 100 credits in his other hand. "Here's 100 credits. Take them." Sonic offered to the man. "You're giving me 100 credits?" The man asked, surprised. "Just like that? I….I don't know what to say! Thank you! Thank you!" "You're giving 100 credits?" Carth asked, while the man took the credits Sonic gave him. "Generous." "Now I can pay off Davik! You've saved my life! Thank you! I better give these credits to him right away!" The man quickly ran to the door that leads to the Upper City North. "We better get to the party." Sonic suggested to Carth. "Don't wanna be late." Carth only shrugged as he tried to keep up with Sonic's jogging. "You're too slow!" Sonic teased Carth. "I'll show you who's too slow once I-!" Carth started. "I was only kidding!" Sonic explained, laughing. "Can't you take a joke?" "Why do I get the feeling that he's gonna annoy Bastila to no end with his jokes?" Carth asked himself as they made their way to the Upper City North.


End file.
